Operating Status & Schedules

Electronic Records Management Initiative (ERM)

ATTENTION! This page has been superseded. The information listed below is no longer accurate. For NARA's current guidance please visit www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/policy/transfer-guidance.html. Please note that this page is available only as a technical and historical reference. This content will eventually be removed.

This page provides information on the E-Government Electronic Records Management Initiative, for which NARA is the managing partner. E-Government is part of the President's management agenda aimed at making it simpler for citizens to receive high-quality service from the Federal Government, while reducing the cost of delivering those services. The Electronic Records Management Initiative is one of 24 initiatives under E-Government. Records management is an important part of the infrastructure that will make E-Government work, and we are working closely with our partners to ensure success.

The Electronic Records Management Initiative will provide the tools that agencies will need to manage their records in electronic form, addressing specific areas of electronic records management where agencies are having major difficulties. This project will provide guidance on electronic records management applicable government-wide and will enable agencies to transfer electronic records to NARA in a variety of data types and formats so that they may be preserved for future use by the government and citizens. (from E-Government Strategy, February 27, 2002)

Vision:

To effectively manage and facilitate access to agency information in order to support and accelerate decision making and ensure accountability.

Goals:

To integrate e-records management concepts and practices with comprehensive information management policies, processes and objectives to assure the integrity of e-records and information.

To employ ERM to support interoperability, timely and effective decision making, and improved services to customers.

To provide the tools for agencies to access e-records for as long as required and to transfer permanent e-records to NARA for preservation and future use by government and citizens

Organization and Projects:

NARA is the managing partner agency for the ERM Initiative. The projects that are part of the ERM Initiative are organized into three issue areas, each with a lead partner agency:

Lead Agency: National Archives and Records AdministrationInterim Point of Contact: Mark Giguere

This issue area will address an expansion of both the number of formats NARA can accept, and the media and techniques that can be used by Federal agencies when transferring their permanently valuable electronic records to the National Archives of the United States